The reinvented Mercedes Gullwing finally leaves the nest and heads to Frankfurt.

Of all the significant automobiles to be unveiled at this year’s Frankfurt auto show, there may be none so highly anticipated as the 2011 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Affalterbach’s new supercar is a brazen homage to the Mercedes-Benz 300SL Gullwing, a car so legendary that it took no less than a half century for Mercedes to muster up the nerve to tap into its spirit.

Retro? Yes. Literal Recreation of the Original? No

Alas, as much as we had seen of the SLS AMG through its camo-clad test mules, there are a lot of details that we’re only now able to see. Indeed, it’s a rather busy design; anyone hoping for the sort of design purity and simplicity that marked the original Gullwing will have a lot more to take in than they might want. The deliciously long front end is dominated by a huge grille bisected by a horizontal chrome vane and, of course, a prominent three-pointed star. Around that are numerous apertures directing air to its various destinations, with a pair of vertical, multi-element headlamps creeping up the stretched fenders.